Culture does not cover up child rape. On that you are right. But, you seem to dismiss any responsibility from the Happy Valley culture.

Have you missed some of the postings of your brethern on this very site? I won’t recite them word-for-word, they are too stupid to recite, but the gist has been Paterno was a scapegoat – all others are to blame, but not him. That doesn’t sound a little “culty” to you? You don’t think that sort of worship mentality gave Paterno, et al, a particular sense of power or entitlement that could have played a part in any of their decision-making? Really? Because most people do not think they should, or even could, cover up a decade long child rape spree.

How about Sandusky? You don’t think one iota of that self-indulgent, creepy, “I’m above the law even when it comes to child rape” smile came from being worshipped at Happy Valley for nearly 3 decades?

How about the student body? They did riot, after the child-rape enabler Paterno was fired, didn’t they? They did so in front of a national TV audience, didn’t they? Has that happened anywhere else? If so, please declare chapter and verse your examples. If not, then could it have been that the “worship at the altar of college football culture” at PSU led a few of those rioters out into the street that night? Might it have been that same mentality/culture that led them to sleep outside to protect the false idol’s statue?

How about the alumni? Didn’t some of them look into suing the NCAA post-sanctions? Didn’t Franco Harris show up at a game just this year with a pretty public display of support for Paterno?

Sorry, 86, but as much as you hate this fact, the PSU CULTURE played its own role in this tragedy and its aftermath.

I’m not a Ben fan, nor am I a PSU fan, but that program can’t catch a freaking break. Some will say they don’t deserve one. Personally, I have mixed emotions. On the one hand, no, the current players and coaches didn’t have anything to do with the crime, or the subsequent cover-up, so why should they be punished? On the other hand, you can make the argument that the “culture” there is responsible (you know, the whole “tarnished image” thing), and therefore, at least to some extent, there are a LOT more people that share in the blame than just Sandusky, Paterno, Schultz, Curley, whoever.

Get over yourselves already, it isn’t always about football! Didn’t you listen to the NCAA statement accompanying the edict? How about read the multitude of columnists that have condemned the “look the other way” mentality that was embraced at PSU for YEARS?

Yes, I am sure all of that was based on envy, bias and rivalry. No . . . wait a minute . . . could it be based on the fact that PSU harbored a child rapist? For over a decade? Wouldn’t that be enough alone for most to express anger? I mean most of those who are not PSU football cultists?

Some of you people get more sickening by the day.

As for the chance to transfer: I commend the kids who stated. They most likely stayed because they value the education more than football. It takes a mature kid playing At the elite levels of football to have the foresight to realize what’s really important.

So, I agree with the sanctions, and actually think they didn’t go far enough …

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Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that, given that you respond to seemingly 75+% of PSU-related articles saying the same exact thing. I don’t know what school that you’re obsessed over that you have a gigantic chip on your shoulder and are using this story to vent (assuming Pittsburgh-area, Pitt, Duquesne, RMU, etc.), but I’m fairly certain everybody gets the picture at this point.

True, none of them had anything to do with it, but they are collateral damage. Fair or not, that’s how the NCAA sanctions work. So, I agree with the sanctions, and actually think they didn’t go far enough, given the disgusting crimes & cover-ups for over a decade. They are lucky to be playing, and have the choice to transfer.
This isn’t just going to “go away” anytime soon, either. It’s THE worst scandal/cover-up in the history of sports…it will be on the forefront for a long time. PSU die-hards need to remove their heads from the sand.